New desktop computer - msn, norton etc

[Wrace]

Got a new Acer desktop computer to replace the aging HP I had been using for years, after inheriting it from my wife (who originally bought it refurbished)

It's always such fun setting up a new computer... well not really.

It's running windows 10 home and I have installed firefox for the browser and duckduckgo for the search engine.
Did the updates for windows and firefox and I am now trying to configure things how I would like them.

Norton was installed on the machine either through windows or more likely when I installed firefox. I don't care for norton after previous experience with it. It says I'm 'protected' and there are 27 days left in my subscription. I would like norton off of my new desktop and for it to never bother me again.
How can I do this?

The second issue is it seems like when I first open firefox the first tab is always MSN nonsense. I do not like MSN and would like it to stop bothering me. When I open additional tabs they open correctly to the duckduckgo page.

Thanks!

[Rangerider]

This worked for me:

Deactivate the Malwarebytes for Windows Premium Trial

Open Malwarebytes for Windows.
Click Settings.
Click the Account Details tab.
Click Deactivate Premium Trial.
Click Yes to deactivate the Premium Trial.
After you click Yes, a Premium Trial expired notification appears. ...
Click OK.

[fj12ryder]

The Snipping Tool came out with Windows 7, a very useful tool.

[Wrace]

AsheGuy wrote:
You don't need Snagit, just use Windows 10's Snipping Tool. But if you really have a dud DVD, just get an external DVD drive from Amazon, Walmart, etc. They are cheap.

Thanks, didn't know about the Snipping tool.

[AsheGuy]

Wrace wrote:
I got all the software install done (ms office etc) which was all via download. I went to install the last piece of software Snagit, which is on disk. Put it in the dvd drive and got nothing. Went to setup and found that autoplay was on but I am not seeing the dvd player identified anywhere in the recognized list of devices. The drive obviously has power to it because it will open and shut. Though there may be a data cable that I should check if connected.

You don't need Snagit, just use Windows 10's Snipping Tool. But if you really have a dud DVD, just get an external DVD drive from Amazon, Walmart, etc. They are cheap.

[Wrace]

Still working on the last few items we have discussed, and have run into a new issue.

I got all the software install done (ms office etc) which was all via download. I went to install the last piece of software Snagit, which is on disk. Put it in the dvd drive and got nothing. Went to setup and found that autoplay was on but I am not seeing the dvd player identified anywhere in the recognized list of devices. The drive obviously has power to it because it will open and shut. Though there may be a data cable that I should check if connected.

Before purchasing this unit I went through all the amazon reviews and the only negative was a few mentions of the dvd drive being 'cheap', 'flimsy', but worked. I wasn't overly concerned with the dvd drive as I don't use them very much all these days and all other aspects of the reviews were very positive.

There is no way I'm returning this thing after all the work I have into getting it up and running. If I have to I'll buy an external dvd drive or replace the internal one. In addition, snagit is not crucial piece of software that I need right away.

But before that, I thought I'd get some input from you guys on the issue? Maybe I'm not looking in the right area?

[jerseyjim]

X2

[austinjenna]

The company I just retired from makes hardware that does internet protocol testing as well as security testing. All of our PCs at our company ONLY use Defender.

I see this a lot where folks will say 'My company's top IT guy only uses Avast' others say Norton, others bit defender etc....The point is Use something..LOL

[babock]

I just use Windows Defender than comes with Windows 10.

The company I just retired from makes hardware that does internet protocol testing as well as security testing. All of our PCs at our company ONLY use Defender.

[jerseyjim]

You do not have to uninstall Malwarebytes Premium (after the free trail). It will automatically revert to the free version.

[Almot]

Looks like you finally got it right with FF. You should be able to start FF in blank page, not "current page" aka FF default page, but FF default is unobtrusive enough.

Bitdefender - yes, it runs in the background. Open Settings - gears icon - if Protection slider is on, then it works. Click on BD icon in a few days and you'll see a list of phishing attempts. Browse through some suspicious sites to see the results sooner, if you like. When there is a real virus, not just phishing or adware, BD will stop opening the page and will display a big red warning.

Malwarebytes - No, you got the wrong one. Uninstall Premium Trial and install Malwarebytes Free - see Download button in the left column. Free version runs on-demand, not all the time like BD, but it is good.

Notifications - if you mean those from Win 10 - go to PC Settings -> System -> Notifications. Move all the sliders OFF except for those that you need.

Win 10 Start Menu with tiles can be annoying, many tiles can't be removed. I chose not to use it at all. There is a nice program called Classic Shell - it restores your Win 10 desktop to normal Win 7 look. Donate if you can. All these guys - FF, Classic Shell, Wikipedia - are ad-free and doing really good job.

Sometimes after Win 10 update my Start Menu reverts to tiles, then I manually start Classic Shell - once.

I am not sure what you mean by scroll bar on start page. If this is FF, - I don't have problems with scroll bar, it's always there. Btw, FF toolbars and buttons can be changed by clicking on Open Menu - the icon looking like a print page - and then on Customize (looks like a paint brush).

If this is Win 10 scroll bar on PC Settings - not sure if there is an easy option to make it stay, but you don't need it often. Also, it's very narrow, making it wider is difficult, don't remember - I think I had to change the registry entries by advice of somebody on Win 10 forums but this should be done very carefully.

[Wrace]

Thanks guys.
Been working on this all morning.

I've run revo uninstaller a number of times and deleted a number of items which cleaned things up considerably. That is an amazing tool, and the way some of these programs get their roots in the depths of the registry and such is pervasive. Quite a long process on a new machine with a bunch of things I don't need/want. I rebooted the machine each time I deleted something(s) with revo so I could use the revo restore point if something was amiss on restart.

Revo uninstaller said it got rid of msn but if I choose (FF default) option for 'new windows' in my FF home page, then when launching FF it still goes to msn, and when clicking the home icon it goes to msn. I 'fixed' that by setting the home page to the 'current' page as outlined in the previous posts. That's going to have to be good enough even if there are some msn tenticals still lurking out there.

Additional questions:
I've installed bit defender and did an initial scan which showed no problems. I assume bit defender then runs in the background all the time?


I downloaded malwarebytes and it loaded the premium version with 17 day trial period. I assume after the 17 day period it will probably revert to the free version? I ran it once and it found no problems. If this is something that I should run every month?I better put a note on my calendar to remind me, otherwise it won't get done.

Now I've started working on the start page of which I don't use or want about half the items listed. And of course there are a number of them that don't allow the uninstall option, and in some cases also don't allow the unpin from start page option.

These next two items are relatively minor things I suppose but are an annoyance just the same. I get notifications of all sorts that shoot in from the lower right corner of the screen. There are some notifications that I want see such as calendar appointments, but others (like every time a new email is received) that I don't need to see. Must be a way to select what notifications are shown?

Also on the start page, there is a scroll bar to the right that kind of fades out when not in use unless you mouse over it. I right clicked on the scroll bar but no joy. How do I get this scroll bar to remain lit all the time?

And eventually I'll get to the tiles that clutter the start page up like neon signs in the downtown district. Not that I would know about the downtown district mind you.:)

[Almot]

Wrace wrote:
Hmm, if I change from firefox default to 'blank page' it will not open ff with msn, and when I add a tab it will not open the new tab with msn (just a blank page). I guess that works though I'd like to have it open with the search engine firefox home default.

The little home icon still opens ff with msn.

Under options home - new windows and tabs there is actually three options:
Firefox home default
Custom URL's
Blank page

I think the msn thing is inserted into the custom url's but I cant see it to change it.

This is odd. In my PC there are those 3 options for Home page, but only 2 options for New Tabs: Blank and FF default.

I set Home page to Blank and on start-up FF opens with Blank, though little Home icon still opens with FF default. Must be how FF is built, fine with me. I set New Tabs to FF default, and it opens in FF default.

Clear that "custom URL" window in Home page - highlight and click Delete. If your FF indeed has "Custom URL" option for New Tabs, - clear that "Custom URL" as well. Open FF default. Set Home page to "Current URL" and new tabs to "Current URL" or Blank. Restart FF.

If this doesn't help, clear browsing history and all the cookies amd restart FF. Sometimes FF opens on the last page you used earlier because it remembers history - so you need to clear it, this is how I understand it. Though I never took any IT courses, have taught everything myself.

[BarneyS]

Wrace wrote:
Hmm, if I change from firefox default to 'blank page' it will not open ff with msn, and when I add a tab it will not open the new tab with msn (just a blank page). I guess that works though I'd like to have it open with the search engine firefox home default.

The little home icon still opens ff with msn.

Under options home - new windows and tabs there is actually three options:
Firefox home default
Custom URL's
Blank page

I think the msn thing is inserted into the custom url's but I cant see it to change it.

1. Go to whatever page that you want to have as your home page.

2. Click on "Tools" at the top of the page. A new tab will open with General setting catagories.

3. Clck on "Home" on the left side of the page.

4. Click on "Options" in the tools menu.

5. In the page that comes up click on the box near the top that says "Use Current Page".

Now when you open Firefox, the page you set there as your desired home page will open.

That is all there is to it. You are done.:)
Barney

[T18skyguy]

Revo uninstaller will get rid of every last trace of Norton. I use it for all my uninstalls. It got rid of every last bit of Kaspersky which goes down to the root also. Another good program to get rid of bloatware is PC Decraptifier.
There is another program called Unchecky, which automatically makes sure you don't click those add on tool bar programs etc.